"Excellent. The doors of Hogwarts are always open to any student who longs to learn magic. Once you're enrolled, you'll be a member of Hogwarts."
As he said this, Professor Dumbledore's face softened into a satisfied smile.
"All you need to do is prepare your school supplies. I'll take care of the rest."
To him, it didn't matter whether the student was a cat, a werewolf, or even an Obscurial. As long as they were willing to attend Hogwarts, as long as their name was etched into the Book of Admittance, they were his student. As long as he remained headmaster, he would never turn any student away.
He then turned to the couple standing nearby.
"Mr. Lovegood, would you like me to help you apply for financial assistance for Tom?"
Considering that Tom was, officially speaking, still listed as the family's "pet," and sensing the clear, flowing magic within Luna, Dumbledore thoughtfully added the suggestion.
"There's no need, Professor."
Pandora Lovegood smiled as she shook her head, gently pulling the visibly tense Luna into her arms.
"Tom is Luna's best friend—and part of our family. We'll take care of everything for him. Even if Xenophilius had that idea, Luna and I would never allow it!"
Xenophilius: (;´д｀)
He absolutely did not have that idea! In fact, ever since Tom had saved Pandora, he'd sincerely thought of Tom as family. Otherwise, where did the last name "Lovegood" come from in Tom Lovegood?
"In that case, I won't impose any further," Dumbledore said.
Seeing how close-knit the family was, a trace of nostalgia flickered in his eyes. After a brief pause, he looked toward Xenophilius—who had just been silently framed by his wife and had no chance to defend himself.
"If you're willing, you could publish this story in The Quibbler. With your help, handling the aftermath will be much easier on my end." (・‿<)ゞ
As he spoke, he gave them a playful wink.
"Of course, Professor! I won't let you down!"
The gloom on Xenophilius's face vanished instantly, replaced by pure excitement. He practically leapt into the air and dashed upstairs toward his writing room.
"I'm going to start preparing the next issue of The Quibbler right now!"
"┐(『～`;)┌♡ Sorry to embarrass you," Pandora said apologetically as she watched her husband run off, her tone affectionate but helpless.
"Not at all," Dumbledore replied, waving it off casually.
"I still have other matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave."
With that, he drew his wand and gave it an elegant flick. In the next instant, he vanished without a sound, as if he'd melted into the air itself.
"Professor Dumbledore really is amazing," Pandora murmured in admiration.
Luna tilted her head up, her bright eyes sparkling with awe.
…
Time passed. When the new issue of The Quibbler was released, the news that a cat was about to enroll at Hogwarts spread through the wizarding world like a stone dropped into a calm lake, sending ripples in every direction.
That said, given The Quibbler's long-standing reputation, most wizards lumped the story in with its usual content and treated it as nothing more than an amusing oddity for casual conversation.
Still, this so-called "rumor" was about to become reality—because today was the day Tom was supposed to buy his school supplies.
Unfortunately, every journey starts with the hardest step, and they were already stuck on step one:
How were they supposed to get to Diagon Alley?
The group gathered around the fireplace, the mood a little tense.
"So… you can't use Floo Powder, can you?" Pandora asked, looking at the cat crouched nearby with a complicated expression.
Tom somehow produced a small whiteboard from who-knows-where and held it up with a paw, clearly frustrated.
[(╯﹏╰) I don't think Floo Powder understands Cat Language the way Dumbledore does.]
He had anticipated plenty of problems—robes that didn't fit, trouble finding a wand—but he never imagined the first obstacle would be leaving the house.
Floo Powder had one very clear requirement: you had to clearly and accurately say your destination out loud. If your pronunciation was off, you'd end up like Harry Potter in the books—popped out at the wrong fireplace.
And the problem was…
He was a cat.
Expecting a cat to clearly pronounce "Diagon Alley" was just cruel. That was asking way too much of Tom.
Sure, in the cartoons, Tom sometimes spoke like a human. But as the real Tom, he could state with confidence: he had many incredible abilities, but "speaking human language" was absolutely not one of them.
"How about the Knight Bus?" Xenophilius suggested cautiously.
"MEOW!!!"
[(≡｀д´≡)ﾉ Absolutely not!!!]
The moment he heard that familiar name, Tom completely lost it.
Years of living as a cat had blurred most of his Harry Potter memories into something vague—like "the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor causes trouble every year." But the Knight Bus was an exception.
Not because he remembered it from the books.
But because he had actually ridden it once.
And that time, however long the ride lasted, he spent the entire trip throwing up.
No exaggeration—nothing in his cat life had traumatized him more. Aside from Jerry's ridiculous relatives, he'd never taken such a massive loss.
"Then what do you suggest we do?" Pandora sighed. ╮(°︿°)╭
After all, Ottery St. Catchpole was a small village in Devon, nearly 250 miles away from the Leaky Cauldron on Charing Cross Road in London.
If they couldn't use Floo Powder and wouldn't take the Knight Bus, how were they supposed to get there?
Tom raised his sign again.
[(＞ω＜) Can't we use magic? Like what Dumbledore used when he left?]
"Apparition? Well…" Xenophilius glanced awkwardly at his wife. Both were wizards, but his magical skill level didn't come close to Pandora's.
"With ordinary pets, it wouldn't be a problem. But Tom…"
Pandora hesitated, looking down at him. If Tom were just a normal cat, it would be fine—but he wasn't. He was a magical cat.
Just like with Floo Powder: you could bring a non-magical pet along, but once magic was involved, the passage would only allow a single being through.
Tom immediately held up his sign again.
[(°ー°〃) Then forget it!]
He refused without hesitation. There was no way he'd risk Pandora's safety over something like this—especially after everything he'd done to save her.
Looks like I'll have to rely on myself, he thought. Teleportation… I should have that ability too, right? (・–・;)
With that in mind, Tom began rummaging through his massive, chaotic "skill library." Like Ultraman Tiga, his ability list was long, messy, and all over the place. Finding one specific power on demand wasn't easy.
Fortunately, many of his abilities worked more on instinct. When needed, they activated on their own. So even if he couldn't find it consciously, it should still work… probably.
Forget it. I'll just try, he decided.
After signaling Luna, Tom focused and began.
Okay… I want to go to the entrance of the Leaky Cauldron on Charing Cross Road, London.
As the thought formed and the image of the Leaky Cauldron appeared in his mind, Tom's paw suddenly moved on its own, clawing sharply at the air beside him.
Something pitch-black—something that looked like it could swallow everything—was forcibly dragged out by him.
The moment it appeared, the Lovegood family felt their vision go dark, though only for an instant. When the light returned, Tom—who had been right in front of them—was gone.